Science Is Constantly Evolving

Discover the latest in climate change and evolution education news.

Robert T. Pennock
Robert T. Pennock
Why teach (and learn) about evolution?
Why teach evolution? A school administrator might answer simply that the district teaches evolution because it a required part of the science curriculum. Evolution is in the standards and a school would be derelict in its educational duty if its textbooks and curriculum failed to include it.…
Lisa White
Lisa White
Why Teach Evolution at a Natural History Museum?
Teaching evolution is fundamental to understanding and explaining the diversity of life around us. Supported by multiple lines of evidence, evolution has the broad power to explain biological phenomena on small and large scales. By understanding how evolutionary changes occur, scientists can make…
two wagon wheels
two wagon wheels
Let's not reinvent the outreach wheel
During the summer of 2019, one of our Graduate Student Outreach Fellows planned to lead a no-conflict training with the "Graduate Outreach Club" at her university. A few days before this was scheduled, I got an email from the president of the "Share Your Science" organization at that same…
Next Generation Science Standards
Next Generation Science Standards
Arizona bill seeks to include NGSS-style climate change in state standards
Arizona's Senate Bill 1368, introduced on January 29, 2020, by Juan Mendez (D-District 26), would, if enacted, revise the state science standards to "include instruction on climate change using the 2013 Next Generation Science Standards." Climate change is already part of one of the "Core Ideas…
NCSE Teacher John Mead with students
NCSE Teacher John Mead with students
Evolution: Weaving a Tapestry of Scientific Understanding
When I tell people that my sixth-grade life science course is based on evolution, I get some interesting looks. Some of those looks are because most folks think I am certifiable just for loving to teach sixth-graders! However, after they get past that, they are puzzled by the idea that I dedicate…
Caves of Gargas neolithic hand stencils
Caves of Gargas neolithic hand stencils
Will the Paleolithic disappear from North Carolina's schools?
A revised set of North Carolina's state social studies standards now under consideration omits the Paleolithic, according to WFAE radio in Charlotte (January 30, 2020), meaning that human evolution would no longer be mentioned in sixth-grade world history courses. WFAE observed, "Some who embrace…
Microscopes on a table
Microscopes on a table
Antiscience legislation in South Dakota out of commission
South Dakota's Senate Bill 59, which would have allowed the misrepresentation of science in the classroom, was tabled on a 7-0 vote in the Senate Education Committee on January 30, 2020, and is thus out of commission. If enacted, SB 59 would have provided, "No teacher may be prohibited from…
NCSE Teacher Ambassador Rebecca Brewer
NCSE Teacher Ambassador Rebecca Brewer
The "how" is as important as the "why"
Evolution illuminates the nature of science. With evolutionary concepts embedded throughout biology courses, observational and experimental investigations provide opportunities for students to analyze data, argue the evidence, and draw connections regarding evolutionary change.
Joe Felsenstein
Joe Felsenstein
Discovering for myself that evolution really does unify biology
I came to my own realization of the importance of teaching evolution by discovering that several unconnected subjects that fascinated me were actually closely connected, and connected with all of modern evolutionary biology.

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The National Center for Science Education is the only national organization that specializes in defending the teaching of controversial issues (such as evolution and climate change) in public schools. Because of our special expertise and experience, NCSE is often cotacted by members of the press who are writing about the evolution/creationism controversy, or about the teaching of global warming and other climate science issues that have come under political attack. Our staff can provide reliable information about creationism, evolution, climate change, and the state of science education in the United States.

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